Monroe Township police, neighbor rescue elderly woman from house fire

View full sizeStaff Photo by Andy Polhamus/Gloucester County TimesThis house at 427 Church St. in Williamstown was damaged by fire Tuesday night. An elderly woman was rescued from the house by her neighbor and and two police officers.

MONROE TWP. —An elderly woman was rescued from a house fire by a neighbor and two police officers in the 400 block of Church St. Tuesday night.

First responders found flames coming from the second floor of the building at about 10:05 p.m. Ptl. Kevin Bielski learned from a neighbor that the elderly woman might be in her first-floor apartment. Bielski found the woman, who was on a self-contained oxygen device and had difficulty walking, and a neighbor who was trying to get her out of the apartment, authorities said. The unidentified neighbor, Bielski and Ptl. Stephen Boyd rescued the woman from the building. The woman, whose name was not released because police hadn’t notified her family, was taken safely away from the fire by Sgt. David Daily and then transported to Kennedy University Hospital in Washington Township for evaluation, authorities said.

Police said the Gloucester County Fire Marshal’s office investigated the fire and determined the fire originated in a second-floor bedroom and may have been sparked by an extension cord that was powering an air conditioner.

Williamstown Fire Co. First Assistant Fire Chief Jim Jacobi said the fire was placed under control at about 10:29 p.m. Firefighters from Williamstown, Cecil and Washington township were at the scene until almost 1 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.

Jacobi praised the firefighters who knocked the fire down quickly in spite of the excessive heat.

Emergency Medical Services set up a rehabilitation station but none of the firefighters needed it, said Jacobi.

The American Red Cross South Jersey Chapter said adults who lived in the house were able to find their own lodging, but the chapter provided assistance for food and clothing.